A Method for Studying Norepinephrine and Serotonin Metabolism in Small Regions of Rat Brain: Effect of Ovariectomy on Amine Metabolism in Anterior and Posterior Hypothalamus

Abstract

A method is presented for determining the synthesis rate of norepinephrine and serotonin in anterior and posterior hypothalamus of rat from the changes of specific radioactivity of these amines and their respective precursor amino acids after an intraventricular injection of the radioactive amino acids. With our procedure we demonstrated that norepinephrine synthesis was greater in the anterior hypothalamus of ovariectomized rats than in the anterior hypothalamus of ovariectomized rats treated with 17β-estradiol and progesterone. Norepinephrine synthesis in posterior hypothalamus and serotonin synthesis in both regions of the hypothalamus were similar in the two groups. (Endocrinology89: 1345, 1971)